GAIJ Podcast Episode 11 Welcome again friends, to a retelling of the story of God’s dealings with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now in its final stages when we will dive right into the God of Jacob. My name is Mario Diaz of Marios Ministries, and I am so thankful God has brought you near those speakers right now to hear the Scriptures. The Bible tells us faith comes by hearing. So, I am praying for your heart and mind as you listen today. In this podcast we have left behind all the things we think we knew about God, that frankly, come from movies and fictional books and other extra biblical sources many times, and which can cloud our minds as to our relationship with God. This is important because we have discovered a God who is personal. Who is near those who seek and obey him. He is involved in our affairs and interacts with us. So, if you’re ready, I’m ready. Let’s get to it. [GAIJ BUMPER] After Jacob’s deception of Esau, Rebekah decided to send Jacob to her brother Laban’s place because Esau had vouched to kill him after his father passed away. Isaac calls Jacob blesses him and asks him not to take a wife from the Canaanites. A few chapters back (in chapter 26: 34-35) we were told that Esau had taken two Hittite (descendants of Canaan) who “made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. So, Isaac asks Jacob to take a wife from one of Laban’s daughters. Esau, seeing this, decides he should take another wife that was not a Canaanite, perhaps in an effort to appease his father. So he marries Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. Jacob leaves towards Haran but as he is traveling it gets late and he decides to spend the night, put a rock under his head and then had a magnificent dream. In it, there was a ladder that went from earth to heaven, and the Angels of God were ascending and descending on it! The Lord stood on the top and said, “ I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south and in you and your offspring shall all the famlies of earth be blessed.” Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Jacob wakes up and is stunned, How awesome is this place, he says. He calles it the gate of heaven, given what he saw. He took the stone he used for a pillo and set it up a as a pillar and poured oil over it, and called the name Bethel. And he makes a vow saying , “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” Jacob keeps going and gets to a well outside a city and sees some shepherds with three flocks. He asks them if they know Laban, and they tell him his daughter, Rachel, who is also a shepherdess (how awesome is that!) is coming to water the sheep. She gets there and Jacob moves the rock covering the well and give water to Laban’s/Rebekah’s sheep. He greets her and explains who he is. She is ecstatic and goes to tell her father, who also comes greeting and rejoicing with Jacob. He stayed with them a month. Jacob had apparently been working hard for Laban as his guest, and Laban then tells him, listen, I know you are my blood, but I cannot keep taking advantage of you. Tell me what you want as your wages for the work you are doing. Now, Jacob still remembering the charge his father Isaac gave him, asked for Rachels hand in marriage. Laban had two daughters Leah was the first born and then Rachel. Jacob says he will work for seven years for her. Now, I know this is not how things are done in our day… Laban agrees. So Jacob serves for those seven years for Rebekah, and it says on chapter Genesis Chapter 29 verse 20 that “they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.” But when it came time for the wedding night Laban gave him his daughter Leah. And then in the morning he discovered what had happened. Now, some of us may be wonder how is that possible. There are several factors we can consider. It seemed tradition had something to do with it, the customary veil and clothing for the weeding night, it was late at night, after a feast where the drinking of wine is customary, and that also may have helped cloud Jacob’s vision and judgement. We also don’t know how much they resembled each other. In any case, Jacob rises and says to Laban, “what have you done? I served you for seven years. Why have you deceived me?” Now, the irony might have escaped Jacob, but it can’t escape us....
